A Decision Change
Hey, guys,
In light of the several openings we have had come up lately, and in light of the fabulously talented bunch of people we have presently on the game, we have reconsidered our earlier decision about applying for key characters.
Ashe, a personal friend to JL, Eve, Adrianne and myself outside of the game, finds that she is in the same position as Messiah - between work, school, and a dramatic production she is doing, she simply has no time to play Hestia right now, either. She will be eager to come back at a later time when life slows down, but for now she asks that we return Hestia to the 'available' list.
With all this going on, we have decided to retract our earlier decision to try to keep 'big' characters open for new players. I admit that I am still hopeful that Harry, at least, will be 'adopted' by someone that will have a lot of time to dedicate to just *him*, but I will not even 'reserve' that character if one of our present players really wants to play him.
However - I do have concerns that I ask you to all keep in mind and try to honestly evaluate for yourselves if you are considering taking on a second character - and please remember that our limit remains two characters per person. At this time, we have not even considered altering that particular limit, simply because it is our experience that people with many characters tend to lack dedication or focus on any of them, or tend to favour one to the detriment of the others.
Enough rambling - things to consider as you think about a second character:
1. Time. As we can see by all the folks who have had to leave due to real-life time constraints, this is a huge issue. Do you have time to play the character in addition to the character you already know and love? Do you have any forseeable real-life 'changes' that might dramatically alter your time-availability in the near future? Marriage, new job, new class load, new baby, new boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. It is sometimes better for a character to be 'vacant' than to have numerous rotating Muns, so please really consider this.
2. Character interaction. Please don't apply for a second character if the two would have reason to have close/frequent interaction. With the exception of the Weasley Twins, who are almost one 'unit', no one should play two Weasleys, for example, or two members of the Trio, or even two Professors.
This is not an absolute, but I can tell you from experience of those occasions when I have to play Minerva and Snape in the same scene, that it is difficult in many ways. The scene goes quickly, of course, because I only am waiting for myself to 'tag' myself, but it is also hard to keep the personalities separate in my head and things. So just keep this in mind as you think about it. It is often easier and more fun to run two characters who are very different from each other.
3. Admin Interaction. Some characters, almost by definition, have to have more Admin consultation and nudging than others, just to help us move plots forward. Would it bug you to have us ping you to ask you to have your character do 'xyz' in order to move along a broader plot? We would never ask anyone to violate what they feel is in-character for *their* character, nor would we ever hurt/kill/maim a player-character without the player wanting/consenting to the plot! But some people like complete autonomy, while others don't mind working closely with the admins.
4. How upset will you be if we say 'no'? Being an existing player helps leaps and bounds as far as being granted a second character, and I don't know that we have outright denied anyone, but you have all seen how picky we can be over the applications - how many Lucius applications have we had? We will, of course, work with you and explain anything that we think is a conflict and allow for revisions and edits and all those sorts of things. But, 'no' is a possibility - especially if there are multiple applications for the same character. We don't want hurt feelings or to lose anyone over a second-character-situation, so please understand that open and honest dialog will be necessary during the application process.
If I haven't totally scared you off, and there is a character you've been itching to apply for, please feel free to go right ahead and do it! *grin* There is a lot to be said for characters of Muns who are already intimately familiar with our game plot and story-lines, so if you have the time and desire for a second character, we will be thrilled to receive and evaluate your application.
Cheers!
Lisa